Paul Chain Violet Theatre — In The Darkness
This reissue comes in a card sleeve that recreates the original LP sleeve & artwork in mini- we get the CD it's self in a mini plastic slip sleeve, an inner paper sleeve, & fold out doubled sided inlay.
The album takes in eight tracks in all, and these run between the four to seven minute mark. Opening up the album we have a great early highlight in the shape of “Welcome To My Hell”. This brings together a strutting & slightly wonky rock riff with sudden & unexpected moody synth rises- this is topped off with Mr Chains demented vocals; which shift between almost darkly punk croons, whooping wails & screams, and horror rock off-kilter-ness.
Other highlights include: “War” which is a urgent yet eerier mix of church organ simmers, single beeping synth tone, & odd sways of synth noise- this edged with an all–most shoe gaze like echoed male vocals, and these add a harmonic hook to the proceedings.
“Grey Life” with it’s chugging punked metal riffling, that’s topped off with Mr Chain’s vocals, which this time lurch from ghoulish bays & chatters, through to sudden shrieks & wheezy growls. With this track you can really hear hints of a more wayward black metal feel, and I could certainly see that this particular track( and a few others here) could have influenced Mayhem when they created De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.
All in all this is a great full length debut which stays mainly with-in rock/doom/metal format, but managers to add in some of it’s own creative, and at times a-head-of-it’s time edges. And while this reissue doesn’t add in any extra/ unreleased material, the look & presentation of the mini LP reproduction is most effective. So if you’re after something from dark tinged rock/doom/metal side of things, which has creative & blackly quirky edges to it, then In The Darkness will well fit the bill.